The present invention relates to the field of towable power plant and more particularly to a power plant capable of generating compressed air and worksite illumination.
Trailerable power plants are used as power sources at remote locations. Gas or diesel engines are usually mounted upon a trailer frame, together with their accessory units such as cooling or radiator systems, fuel tanks, and associated electrical systems, and are used to drive a single power source, such as, for example, an electrical generator, hydraulic pump, air compressor, or water pump. They are most commonly used in civil construction applications such as road or building construction projects where regular utility services may not be readily available. Examples of such applications include trailerable light towers used for illumination of road construction projects where connection to electrical power lines would be difficult or impossible to achieve. Another example would be an air compressor air for a pneumatic jack hammer.
Many road construction projects are typically done a night to limit the impact on commuters traveling to and from work. Nighttime road work projects such as repairing or replacing pipes under a roadway require the contractor to tow an air compressor and a light tower to the worksite. The air compressor is used as a source of compressed air for a pneumatic jackhammer and the light tower is used to illuminate the worksite. A problem with separate towable units for compressed air and lights occurs on smaller jobs where a single person could perform the task, but the contractor is required to send two workers, one to drive each of the tow vehicles.
Towable light towers are typically used to light a large worksite and the lights run directly off of the engine. A drawback to this type of system is that a user must start the engine in order to get light to illuminate a worksite.
Accordingly what is needed is a single towable engine housing that is capable of generating compressed air and work sight illumination. It is also desirable to have a light tower kit that may be added to an existing towable power unit.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a towable air compressor and light tower unit is disclosed that is mounted to a trailer with wheels and a hitch. A user may tow this single unit to a job site and provide illumination of the work site and compressed air for powering a jackhammer or other tool.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a light tower kit is disclosed that can be secured to an existing towable air compressor, electric generator, hydraulic pump, or water pump power plant to add the feature of worksite illumination.
The above and other objects, feature, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description thereof when read in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein the same reference numerals denote the same or similar parts throughout the several views.